Submitted by Pablo Bettio Mendes (bettiomendes@hotmail.com) on 2018-10-10T15:48:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao - Pablo - FINAL - 2018-OUT-10 (Rev.2).pdf: 2608147 bytes, checksum: 01299e2f6bfb9f6afd67d263d6a73aa0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Lucilene Cordeiro da Silva Messias null (lubiblio@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-10-10T16:34:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 mendes_pb_me_bauru.pdf: 2608147 bytes, checksum: 01299e2f6bfb9f6afd67d263d6a73aa0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-10T16:34:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 mendes_pb_me_bauru.pdf: 2608147 bytes, checksum: 01299e2f6bfb9f6afd67d263d6a73aa0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-24 / A erosão dos solos é fenômeno natural que ocorre tanto em áreas rurais como urbanas, atuando através da remoção e arraste de material, tendo consequências muito sérias ocasionando diversas perdas financeiras e até de vidas humanas. A necessidade de conter ou controlar esse processo de degradação inspirou o desenvolvimento de várias tecnologias ligadas à área de bioengenharia. Duas delas, biomanta e hidrossemeadura, são atualmente vendidas separadamente no mercado provavelmente por razões comerciais, mas possuem o potencial de ser trabalhadas de maneira integrada. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi testar a eficácia do uso integrado de duas técnicas de controle de erosão causada pela água em encostas e taludes: biomanta e hidrossemeadura. O trabalho foi realizado no município de Sorocaba em um talude com forte pendente disponibilizado dentro do Campus da Faculdade de Tecnologia (FATEC). Foram usados materiais de baixo custo, além do uso de rejeitos de material proveniente de cortes de vegetação de baixo porte que muitas vezes não tem um destino adequado. Para tanto foram construídas oito parcelas retangulares de aproximadamente seis metros de extensão por um metro de largura. Duas destas parcelas foram mantidas continuamente descobertas (condição controle de terreno natural) e as outras seis foram cobertas / protegidas com mantas biodegradáveis, sementes ou sistema integrado de palha e sementes. Ao todo foram construídos quatro pares, cada um deles com uma técnica diferente de combate a erosão. Durante a pesquisa, foram avaliadas e quantificadas as mudas das espécies que germinaram, também foi medido o volume de chuva durante o período. Sem prejuízo, fez-se, também, a quantificação do volume do material erodido (sedimento) em cada tipo de recobrimento após cada evento de chuva. / Soil erosion is a natural phenomenon that occurs in rural and urban areas, acting through the removal and dragging of material, with very serious consequences causing several losses including human lifes. The need to contain or control this degradation process has inspired the development of several technological alternatives linked to the area of bioengineering. Two of them are currently sold separately on the market, probably for commercial reasons, but have the potential to be worked on in an integrated fashion. The aim of the present work is to test the effectiveness of two techniques integrated to avoid erosion caused by water on slopes used together: bio-blanket and hydroseeding. The work was carried out in Sorocaba in a slope with strong inclination made available within the Campus of the Faculdade de Tecnologia (FATEC). For the work, low cost materials were used as the litter usually coming from the tailings, vegetation cuts that often did not have an adequate destination. For this, eight rectangular plots of approximately six meters in length by a meter of width each were constructed. Two of these plots were kept continuously discovered (natural land control condition) and the other six were covered / protected with biodegradable blanket, seeds or integrated straw and seed system. Altogether there are four pairs compared, each with a different solution from the each other. During the research, the seedlings of the species that germinated were evaluated and quantified. The volume of rain was quantified and also the volume of the eroded material (sediment) in each type of cover were also measured right after every rain event

The diploma thesis deals with health and social impacts of child abuse and its prevention from the perspective of social workers. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis draws on scholarly resources and explains basic terms related to the topic. The first part focuses on violence, victims of violence and abuse in general. The second part describes the CAN syndrome and its history. Moreover, it informs about general attitude towards abuse, maltreatment and neglect in the society. The next chapter concentrates on risk factors of abuse, maltreatment and neglect respectively. The following part addresses health and social impacts of child abuse and the role of social workers when working with child victims of violence. Next, it focuses on legislation that deals with child abuse and services designated to help abused, neglected and maltreated children. The last section of the theoretical part concentrates on child abuse prevention that includes prevention programs and National Strategy on Prevention of Violence against Children in the Czech Republic for the period 2008-2018. The main aim of the thesis was to determine health and social impacts of violence and child abuse prevention from the perspective of a social worker. Next, three following sub-goals were specified: to identify the consequences of child abuse, to determine opinions of social workers on prevention of violence against children and to establish social workers' suggestions for prevention. To fulfill the aforementioned objectives, three research questions were defined: What are the health and social impacts of child abuse from the perspective of social workers? What is the subjective opinion of social workers on child abuse prevention? What are the suggestions and recommendations of social workers for violence prevention? The practical part was conducted by means of qualitative research strategy. The data were collected by a survey method, specifically by a semi-structured interview. The data were analyzed using a clustering method. The research group consisted of five respondents who were selected intentionally. The research group was chosen from the Registry of social services providers. Altogether seven organizations working with abused, maltreated and neglected children were selected. A social worker from each of these seven organizations was contacted. Consequently, five social workers agreed to participate in the research. These social workers were from the Authority of Social and Legal Protection of Children and from other non-governmental organizations. Two other social workers refused to take part in the research. The interviews were always held in the social workers' workplace. The research survey showed that the most common health and social impacts of child abuse are self-harm, mental disorders, identification with the role of a bully and problems in the future relationships. Most respondents stated that prevention of violence against children is sufficient but they added that there is still room for improvement. One respondent said that the level of prevention is inadequate because the process is uncoordinated and coherent methodology as well as continuous approach to children is missing. Furthermore, the research established that the respondents think it is vital to improve child abuse prevention by developing comprehensive methodology and integrating this topic to the school curriculum. All in all, the thesis focuses on a widely discussed topic child abuse is a worldwide up-to-date problem since it occurs very frequently. The purpose of this diploma thesis could be to call attention of the society to child abuse and inform about its occurrence. Next, this thesis could also prove useful in the area of child abuse prevention since it might serve as an information source for experts who deal with prevention of violence against children. It may also motivate people to improve current prevention methods.

Main aim of this diploma thesis was to apply a standard methodology for calculating economic impacts of the value added of tourism in this region, based on an analysis of tourism performance in the district of Český Krumlov. Partial aim was to identify regional barriers caused by problematic data and suggest possible measures that need to be taken inevitably.

This diploma thesis, which is called Tradition and habits as a sustainable product of tourism, deals with the analysis of traditions in Českobudějovicko, focuses more on the tradition of fishing and fish farming. It focuses more on the producers and suggests a sustainable tourism product. The aim of the thesis is to propose a sustainable tourism product in the chosen destination of Českobudějovicko with the expression of economic impacts, based on the analysis of traditions and customs offers. The partial objective is to analyze the supply of fishery and fishery producers in connection with tourism use.

Ao longo da história da humanidade, a visão de progresso prevalente se expressa pelo crescente domínio e transformação da natureza. De acordo com este paradigma, os recursos naturais são vistos como ilimitados. Isto pode justificar a falta de preocupação com os resíduos gerados durante a produção e ao final da vida útil dos produtos, características de um modelo linear de produção. No contexto atual de preocupação com a degradação ambiental e o esgotamento das reservas naturais muitas iniciativas foram implementadas no sentido de conscientizar os setores produtivos da economia e os órgãos governamentais dos países da necessidade de mudanças. A indústria da construção civil é o maior consumidor de recursos naturais de qualquer economia e um grande gerador de resíduos. O desenvolvimento de produtos, processos e serviços menos agressivos ao meio ambiente e à saúde humana é um desafio para as nações que buscam o desenvolvimento sustentável e encontram na indústria da construção civil um suporte para as mudanças necessárias. Dentro desta realidade, existe a necessidade do desenvolvimento de ferramentas computacionais que auxiliem na seleção de produtos mais sustentáveis na construção civil. Em alguns países, softwares estão sendo desenvolvidos para servirem como ferramenta de apoio à tomada de decisão na busca por produtos e serviços mais sustentáveis. Alguns destes, como o Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability versão 3.0 (BEES 3.0), são fundamentados na Análise de Ciclo de Vida (ACV). Este é um procedimento sistemático para mensurar e avaliar os impactos que um produto ou material causa no meio ambiente e sobre a saúde humana, desde a sua produção até a disposição final. O BEES é um programa de apoio à decisão desenvolvido pela SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry), para ser utilizado na escolha de produtos e materiais da construção e em programas de certificação ambiental de produtos e edifícios. O mesmo foi desenvolvido nos Estados Unidos, por isso não se pode ter certeza de sua aplicabilidade direta para as condições de países com realidades tão diferentes como é o caso do Brasil. O presente estudo buscou verificar a possibilidade de gerar dados confiáveis sobre os impactos causados durante o ciclo de vida das estruturas de concreto armado e comparar os resultados com os gerados pelo software BEES 3.0, verificando a validade de suas premissas para a realidade brasileira. Os resultados indicam que softwares como o BEES podem ser importantes para a análise de impactos ambientais, mas necessitam ser adaptados para a realidade brasileira. È fundamental, ainda, coletar dados adequados sobre as práticas produtivas usadas no Brasil para alimentar este tipo de análise. A análise de três tipos de concretos, com e sem adições, usando as premissas do programa, evidencia que é possível projetar materiais de construção com menor impacto ambiental. / Along the evolution of mankind, the dominating vision of progress has often been represented by the control and transformation of nature. According to this paradigm, natural resources are seen as limitless. This can justify the historical lack of concern regarding the production of waste during the manufacturing and use of goods, a typical stance of the linear model of production that prevail until almost the end of the XXth century. Since then, a rising awareness of the importance of environmental values has brought along a new concern about the degradation of natural environments and the exhaustion of natural resources. In tandem, many initiatives started to be implemented to convince private and public sectors of the economy of the need for changes. The development of new products, processes and services, less aggressive to the environment and the public health, is a challenge for all nations that are trying to pursue a more sustainable development path. The civil construction industry has an important role in this scenario, because it is the biggest consumer of natural resources of any economy and a great source of residues. Given the complexity of the issue, it is useful to develop computational tools to assist in the selection of “greener” products. Various countries are developing software aids that help making more informed decisions regarding sustainable practices. One of them is the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES), developed for the SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) in the US, to be used in the selection of products and materials for construction and in programs of environmental certification of products and buildings. It is based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a systematic procedure used to measure the impacts that a product or material causes in the environment or on the human being’s health, from its production up to final disposal. Although environmental problems are normally global and not limited by political barriers, differences between production practices, costs and general policy values among Brazil and the US gives rise to caution in adopting the BEES software in Brazil without a previous evaluation and adaptation to the local reality. To help in this sense, this study investigated how results generated with version 3.0 of the BEES software would compare with values derived from a direct analysis of the environmental impact of the production of a reinforced concrete beam. The analysis of beams produced with three types of concrete, with and without the addition of supplementary cementing materials, provided evidence that it is possible, in both cases, to identify key environmental costs and project structures to obtain a smaller environmental impact. The study indicated that software such as BEES can be quite useful in the process of identifying and checking better production practices. It is necessary, however, to adapt them to the local reality and to start collecting reliable data about the environmental costs of production practices used in Brazil to allow them to work properly.

CORREA, Jean Michel. Metais pesados em água, sedimentos e peixes no rio Maranguapinho, Região Metropolitana de Fortaleza, Ceará. 2014. 139 f. Tese (Doutorado em geologia)- Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza-CE, 2014. / Submitted by Elineudson Ribeiro (elineudsonr@gmail.com) on 2016-06-07T19:06:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_jmcorrea.pdf: 5358041 bytes, checksum: 9f48cb9859e12cefb43009585d9fc136 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by José Jairo Viana de Sousa (jairo@ufc.br) on 2016-06-07T23:32:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_jmcorrea.pdf: 5358041 bytes, checksum: 9f48cb9859e12cefb43009585d9fc136 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by José Jairo Viana de Sousa (jairo@ufc.br) on 2016-06-07T23:35:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_jmcorrea.pdf: 5358041 bytes, checksum: 9f48cb9859e12cefb43009585d9fc136 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-07T23:35:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_jmcorrea.pdf: 5358041 bytes, checksum: 9f48cb9859e12cefb43009585d9fc136 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Aquatic ecosystems are considered receivers of contaminants released into the environment, being susceptible the actions of domestic and industrial effluents which are released directly into this ecosystem. Among the environmental contaminants are heavy metals which are highly resistant to degradation. They can occur in different chemical forms in nature and therefore may increase or reduce its toxic characteristics toward several organisms and their biological characteristics, according to their concentration in the ecosystem. The Maranguapinho river presents environmental problems, such as pollution, deforestation of its margins, among others. The river bed is silted up due to the replacement of riparian vegetation and receives several channels in the region, clandestine pipes of domestic sewages. A two-year study was carried out in three reaches located in this river: RMA-A (high basin), RMA-B (middle basin) and RMA-C (low basin). A total of 93 fishes were collected, distributed in four orders, seven families, nine genera and 11 species. The species richness was highest in RMA-B, with five species. Although above the maximum allowed value, the concentrations of Al, Fe and Mn found in the water were not considered contaminants, indicating that these elements are the result of lithological composition of the region. The geoaccumulation index indicated that all the sediment samples of Maranguapinho are classified into Class 1 due to the small variation in the intensity of pollution, revealing that the elements are natural constituents of the basin. The sample size used was 21 individuals for further toxicological representation of fishes captured. Hypostomus jaguribensis and Loricariichthys nudirostris species showed the highest amounts of the metals studied (Al = 44,34 ppm, Fe = 460,15 ppm and Sr = 1,38 ppm), trending to accumulate high amounts of metals in the body and can be considered good bioindicators. The ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference between the concentrations of Cd and Zn in the viscera of fish and the maximum values allowed by the law, showing that these elements can cause contamination risks to fish and humans and allowed the distinction of marginal influences between the average of Fe and Mn in the viscera of fish and water stations, being the water the factor of entry of the elements in the animal organism. The Maranguapinho river is a natural environment potentially fragile. Several kinds of anthropogenic interferences, such as discharge of effluents, contributes for the its environmental degradation. / Os ecossistemas aquáticos são considerados receptores de contaminantes liberados no ambiente, estando susceptíveis as ações de efluentes domésticos e industriais que são lançados sem tratamento diretamente neste ecossistema. Dentre os contaminantes ambientais, encontram-se os metais pesados, que são altamente resistentes a degradação. Metais pesados podem ocorrer sob diferentes formas químicas na natureza e conseqüentemente podem aumentar ou reduzir suas características tóxicas para com os diversos organismos e suas características biológicas, de acordo com suas concentrações no ecossistema. O rio Maranguapinho apresenta problemas ambientais, a exemplo da poluição, desmatamentos de suas margens, dentre outros. O leito do rio encontra-se praticamente todo assoreado em decorrência da substituição da mata ciliar e recebe água de diversos canais da região, de tubulações clandestinas de efluentes domésticos. Nesse contexto, um estudo foi realizado nos anos de 2012 e 2013 em três estações de amostragem situadas nesse rio: RMA-A, situada no alto curso, RMA-B, situada no médio curso e RMA-C, situada no baixo curso. Foram coletados 93 peixes, distribuídos em quatro ordens, sete famílias, nove gêneros e 11 espécies. A riqueza de espécies foi maior no RMA-B, com cinco espécies. As concentrações de Al, Fe e Mn encontradas na água, embora acima do valor máximo permitido, não foram consideradas contaminantes, indicando que esses elementos são resultantes da composição litológica da região. O índice de geoacumulação indicou que todas as amostras de sedimentos do rio Maranguapinho estão enquadrados na classe 1 em virtude da pouca variação apresentada na intensidade de poluição, revelando que os elementos encontrados são constituintes naturais da bacia. O tamanho da amostra utilizada foi de 21 exemplares para uma maior representatividade toxicológica da ictiofauna capturada. As espécies detritívoras Hypostomus jaguribensis e Loricariichthys nudirostris apresentaram as maiores quantidades dos metais estudados (Al = 44,34 ppm, Fe = 460,15 ppm e Sr = 1,38 ppm), possuindo uma maior tendência a acumular em seu organismo elevadas quantidades de metais e podendo ser considerados bons indicadores da qualidade ambiental. A ANOVA revelou diferença estatisticamente significante entre as concentrações de Cd e Zn nas vísceras dos peixes e os valores máximos permitidos na legislação, mostrando que esses elementos podem causar sérios riscos de contaminação aos peixes e humanos e também permitiu distinguir influências marginais entre as médias de Fe e Mn nas vísceras dos peixes e na água das estações, sendo a água o fator de ingresso dos elementos no organismo animal. A bacia do rio Maranguapinho é um ambiente natural potencialmente frágil. Os vários tipos de interferências antropogênicas, em especial a descarga de efluentes, contribuíram de forma marcante para a sua degradação ambiental.

SANTOS, José Ésio dos. A carcinicultura no Ceará: principais impactos ambientais em uma fazenda no Cumbe - Estuário do Rio Jaguaribe. 2006. 79 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Fortaleza-CE, 2006 / Submitted by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-07-18T12:17:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_jesantos.pdf: 955420 bytes, checksum: 7ed893de68fe4a9012e376894ce4d06e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-07-18T12:18:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_jesantos.pdf: 955420 bytes, checksum: 7ed893de68fe4a9012e376894ce4d06e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-18T12:18:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_jesantos.pdf: 955420 bytes, checksum: 7ed893de68fe4a9012e376894ce4d06e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / A carcinicultura é uma atividade tradicional que visa à criação de camarões em cativeiro. No estado do Ceará esta atividade tem um maior potencial devido à grande quantidade de áreas propícias ao seu desenvolvimento. A criação de camarões em cativeiro visando a exportação representa mais uma opção de investimento e de diversificação da atividade industrial para o estado. Aliada as condições ambientais favoráveis, os mercados nacional e principalmente internacional, à carcinicultura está marcada por uma grande demanda potencial do produto que garanta a viabilidade econômica da produção de camarões em larga escala no município de Aracati. A maioria dos problemas que ocorrem na atividade do cultivo de camarões são resultados diretos do local onde os viveiros de engorda são construídos. A avaliação dos impactos ambientais dos projetos de implantação de fazendas merece especial atenção para a escolha do local de construção dos viveiros de engorda. Do ponto de vista científico, deve-se evitar a concentração de fazendas de criação de camarões e é necessário que se cuide da qualidade da água e que haja monitoramento constante dos criatórios a fim de evitar a poluição dos mangues e dos recursos hídricos. Com o adensamento das fazendas de camarões, começam a surgir pragas que acabam demandando um uso maior de produtos químicos colocando em risco o equilíbrio ecológico e social. A atividade causa fortes impactos ambientais e sócio-econômicos. O desenvolvimento desordenado da carcinicultura afeta sobretudo o ecossistema manguezal um dos mais complexos do planeta, importante na geração e produção de vida animal e na subsistência de muitas comunidades. A carcinicultura é acusada de causar severos impactos ambientais pois modifica o fluxo da marés, acabam com a biodiversidade, promovem alterações no regime hídrico no fluxo e disponibilidade da água, contaminação do lençol freático, muitas vezes afetando o abastecimento humano. É imperativo que o poder público e o setor produtivo levem em consideração um programa de manejo e mitigação dos impactos ambientais e estabeleçam políticas e práticas para o cultivo sustentável de camarão marinho no estado.

A cadeia produtiva da construção civil está associada a grandes consumos de matérias-primas e energia, além de ser uma das maiores geradoras de resíduo, sendo responsável por parcela significativa dos impactos ambientais a nível global. Embora seja vasta a disponibilidade de literatura internacional a respeito de impactos ambientais causados por materiais de construção, a bibliografia nacional ainda é limitada. Este fato constitui uma barreira na determinação dos impactos ambientais causados por materiais de construção locais, e conseqüentemente os impactos causados pelas edificações e pelo setor da construção. Os materiais cerâmicos estão entre os mais tradicionais empregados na construção civil no Brasil, onde existem aproximadamente 11.000 indústrias, principalmente de pequeno e médio porte. No entanto o setor enfrenta uma série de problemas ambientais, econômicos e de qualidade dos produtos fabricados. Em 2000, o Núcleo Orientado para a Inovação da Edificação (NORIE), pertencente ao Departamento de Engenharia Civil da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), iniciou uma pesquisa visando identificar de forma qualitativa e quantitativa os impactos ambientais causados pelo processo produtivo de materiais de cerâmica vermelha, para o Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Este trabalho analisa os dados coletados em uma pesquisa realizada em 40 indústrias de cerâmica vermelha de diferentes escalas (com produção de 20.000 a 1.500.000 peças/mês) e utiliza a metodologia de Análise do Ciclo de Vida para obter resultados relativos a recursos naturais, fontes energéticas, geração de resíduos sólidos e emissões gasosas, relacionados a cada fase do processo produtivo. Os resultados obtidos revelam os impactos causados pelas indústrias de cerâmica vermelha no Rio Grande do Sul, apontando os aspectos positivos e negativos do processo. São também obtidos dados quantitativos com relação à energia incorporada nos produtos, através de informações coletadas nas indústrias. / The Building Construction supply chain is characterized by a high consumption of raw materials and energy and a high production of waste; being responsible for a significant share in the global environmental impact. Although being large the availability of international literature on environmental impacts determined by building materials, the existing literature on such impacts in Brazil is very limited. This constitutes a barrier to determine the environmental impact of local building materials, and consequently the impact caused by buildings and the building sector. Ceramic products are in the roll of the most traditional construction materials used in Brazil, where there are about 11,000 industries, mostly small and medium sized. However, the sector is going through environmental, economic and product quality problems. In 2000, NORIE, a section of the Department of Civil Engineering Department at UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), started a research project aiming at identifying quantitative and qualitative environmental impacts caused by ceramic bricks, blocks and tiles production, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, south of Brazil. This research analyses the collected data on a survey performed at 40 ceramic industries, with different scales (producing from 20,000 to 1,500,000 bricks/month), and uses LCA methodology to obtain results related to material and energy consumption, as well as waste emissions in each process step. The obtained results reveal the environmental impacts caused by ceramic bricks, blocks and tiles industries in Rio Grande do Sul, pointing out positive and negative production aspects. In addition, it was possible to estimate the embodied energy of local ceramic materials through the collected data.

The development of offshore wind farms and marine renewable energy devices in the Mediterranean is central to both national, and international, energy strategies for countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The ecological impacts of marine renewable energy development in the Mediterranean region, although essential for policy makers, are as yet unknown. The Northern Adriatic is identified as a plausible site for offshore wind farm development. Using the wider region (Adriatic and Northern Ionian) as a case study, this thesis examines the likely impact to the marine environment if an offshore wind farm is established. Site suitability, based on wind speed, bathymetry, and larvae connectivity levels are investigated along with the plausibility of the turbines operating as artificial reefs in the area. As offshore wind farms may alter the larval connectivity and supply dynamics of benthic populations, a connectivity map was constructed to identify areas of high and low connectivity in the Adriatic Sea. The Puglia coast of Italy is a likely larval sink, and displays some of the highest connectivity within the region, suggesting potential inputs of genetic materials from surrounding populations. Considering offshore wind farms could operate as artificial reefs, an in-situ pilot project was established to simulate the presence of wind turbines. Macroinvertebrates colonized the new substrata within the first few months but were lower in abundance when compared to a natural hard substrata environment. Time, turbine location, and the material used for turbine construction all affected the macro-invertebrate communities. In addition, fish abundances, and diversity were lower around the simulated OWF foundations in comparison to a natural hard substrata environment, and no increases in fish abundance occurred around the simulated turbines when compared to reference sites of soft substrata. This observation was validated with the use of an ecosystem modelling software (Ecopath with Ecosim), which simulated the overall ecosystem level impacts that would occur if 50 offshore monopile wind turbines were introduced to the Northern Ionian and colonized by macroinvertebrate communities. When compared to the baseline scenario (no simulated introduction of an OWF), the introduction of new habitat had no discernible impacts to the structure or functioning of the marine ecosystem. Noticeable changes to the ecosystem were only apparent if fishing restrictions were enforced in parallel with the simulated offshore wind farm; the ecosystem appears to become more structured by top down predation. In addition seabirds are also impacted by the reduction of fishing discards as a food source. These results are the first attempt to quantify the suspected benefits of offshore wind farms operating as de-facto marine protected areas.

Herein, we study the contact damage performance of two armour ceramics, alumina and silicon carbide, with varying microstructures and one particle-reinforced ceramic nanocomposite, alumina/silicon carbide, in an attempt to understand the microstructural mechanisms that affect plasticity and cracking under quasi-static and dynamic conditions. Quasi-static contact damage was imitated using Vickers indentation over a varying load regime. Numerical analysis of the indentation size effect, performed using the proportional specimen resistance model, allowed the contributions of plastic deformation and cracking to be separated into two individual values. In all three samples, higher levels of surface energy were found to correlate with increased amounts of cracking per unit area of indentation impression. Analytical modelling of crack initiation during Vickers indentation together with quantitative measurements of surface flaw populations revealed that such an increase in cracking damage was the result of higher densities of larger flaws. The hardness of the monolithic ceramics was found vary based on grain size and porosity levels, a smaller average grain size and lower porosity levels resulting in higher hardness values. In the nanocomposite materials, hardening was found to occur with further additions of silicon carbide nanoparticles. Such an effect has been attributed to the increased dislocation densities, as measured using Cr3+/Al2O3 fluorescence spectroscopy, and the impedance of dislocation movement within the lattice due to the presence of silicon carbide nanoparticles. In order to simulate dynamic contact damage, a low velocity, scaled-down drop-weight test was designed and developed. The dynamic contact damage resistance was determined based on the depth of penetration of a blunt indenter. In the monolithic ceramics, the indenter penetration was found to be shallower in materials of higher hardness. However, the nanocomposite materials displayed an opposing trend, the indenter penetration becoming deeper in the samples of higher hardness. The macro-scale fracture patterns produced during drop-weight impacts were seen to vary based on flaw populations and indenter penetration. In certain microstructures, extensive micro-cracking was also observed.